And then someone comes along our path, someone … our spouse, a friend, a neighbor, the checkout lady at Walmart, our boss, one of our children, etc… They are at the right place at the right time. And again, we find ourselves on the verge of breathlessness. There are waves of “I CAN do this” that appear momentarily, then vanish just as fast as they came. Like that starfish, we find ourselves tossed ashore, stuck.

Each day is necessarily unpredictable and often uncontrollable. Many times as a mom it seems like we are on that beach, baking in the hot sun, gasping for the air we need to bring us back to life. I’m thinking to myself as most of you would: “How am I doing as a Star Thrower” in my daily life? But just as importantly, I also ask myself: “How is my attitude of gratitude as a ‘lucky starfish’ who, daily, is revived by others and very mercifully, thrown back to life?” It’s that concept of neglect and attentiveness, of course, and how this truly matters. One is the patience, dedication, mercy, and love of the “Star Thrower.” Secondly, I keep thinking of each of those starfish … the ones that were not reached that given day by the old man, and then the ones that were rescued through his almost effortless toss in the air. There are two considerations that come to mind when I think about this story. I have not yet had the luxury of reading the entire Eiseley essay, but from the excerpt, even more, thoughtful conclusions can be considered and resolutions of self-improvement made.

If you look on Wikipedia, you can read an excerpt from this story, and from this small paragraph, you will discover why the anthology is 16 pages long. The original story is called “The Star Thrower,” a 16-page essay by Loren Eiseley, published in1969.

The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley